Ketchikan High School junior Julia Spigai has been accepted into two prestigious summer programs that focus on preparing students for applying to college.
Spigai was accepted into the Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America program â as the second Kayhi student in two years to participate as a LEDA scholar, following class of 2021 graduate Evelyn Nutt â and the Questbridge program, as a college prep scholar.
Spigai spoke with the Daily News recently about the lengthy application process for each program, and what sheâs looking forward to as the courses start up.
The LEDA program is a seven-week long course that is traditionally hosted at Princeton University, âand youâre talking with staff members of Princeton as well as the admissions officers from all around the country,â Spigai explained. âBut due to COVID, it s going to be held virtually.â
After a school year marked by fewer school traditions, periodic transitions to remote learning, adapting to new safety procedures and a penchant for normal school life, the Ketchikan High School
KETCHIKAN (KDN) â Ketchikan High School senior Evelyn Nutt recently was selected as one of 625 semifinalists in the national Presidential Scholars program.
Nutt was selected as a semifinalist from a pool of 6,500 initial candidates from across the country, according to a press release from the program, which was first started in 1964 under an executive order from then-president Lyndon B. Johnson.
 Inclusion in the U.S. Presidential Scholars program, now in its 57th year, is one of the highest honors bestowed upon graduating high school seniors, according the release. Scholars are selected on the basis of their accomplishments in many areas â academic and artistic success, accomplishment in career and technical fields, leadership, strong character and involvement in school and the community.
Three student-run groups at Ketchikan High School have been encouraging their classmates to celebrate Earth Day by developing awareness activities, including a social media project, prize raffles, and a schoolwide spirit week.
Kayhi s Rotary Interact Club and the Kayhi National Honor Society jointly have presented the Earth Day Challenge 2021, which encourages students to take pictures and videos of themselves completing certain environmental activities. The challenge will run through the end of the month and culminate in a video collage created by Kayhi students.
And the newly formed Kayhi Environmental Club hosted an informative Spirit Week with earth-friendly themes to educate and inspire students during the week before Earth Day.
KETCHIKAN (KDN) â Ketchikan High Schoolâs academic decathlon team will (virtually) face off with other Alaska AcDc teams at the state tournament on Thursday and Friday.
âWe have a full team of 12 students competing in the tournament, (three students in each of the required grade categories, and three alternates), thanks to a few last-minute new recruits who volunteered to fill our roster,â wrote Kayhi team coach and teacher Peter Stanton in a Monday email to the Daily News. âMany of the decathletes have been putting in a lot of study hours recently, and I think we will be competitive with the top teams in the state this year.â